Kayla in Redding

Kayla is definitely a road-warrior. Say wanna go for a ride? – her ears are up, tail is wagging, leash is in her mouth, she’s in the car, and it’s full-sniff ahead. One of her favorite road trips is the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California, which actually covers about 20 percent of California. Dog-friendly trails, lakes and rivers abound, as do dog-friendly accommodations.

Kayla always begins her Shasta Cascade adventures in the town of Redding, which is not only over-the-top-dog-friendly, but is a great starting point to explore this vast region.

Walking along the river, she enjoys the leash-free open space and along the way visits the McConnell Botanical Gardens and the Mosaic Art Garden. She also takes an occasional cooling-off dip into the safe-to-swim areas of the Sacramento River.

From downtown Redding, there are hundreds of miles of dog-friendly trails to explore within an hour, plus lots of places to splash and swim. Check out the DogTrekker.com trails guide for this Paw Tested region.